Discussing Some Topics

[Rick(amateur)]

Video Response.

Thanks for the response! Below are my thoughts on some points you mentioned!

-Procrastination 2A-

He talked about how procrastination is closely tied to his depression. I can certainly see that as a case where they feed one another. We all know that, when we procrastinate due to fear of something, we create stress that put a strain in ourselves. This stress feeds our anxiety which, in turn, causes more procrastination resulting in a rather vicious cycle. The two things are tied but their severity differs from people and I'm no expert in the matter.

He also question my definition of being better and striving for success. I understand that these two things can be vastly difference when we compare people to people. We have different interests and goals in life. Our values, culture and everything we encounter in life shape our perspective of these two things. Since no two people experience the exact same things, there's no set definition that accommodates two or more people.

This is what I think should define our success. This is more of a rough guideline that serves are a basic structure. What people add onto it really depends on them. I think success must have happiness and fulfillment. Two things that cannot be bought with money alone which is why I think too many people are striving for the wrong things in life.

What makes us happy? Our hobbies, interests and things we value are all good indication. If you like playing games, then games make you happy. It might be a distraction or escape but it gives you happiness, even if it's temporary. This is what it separates happiness from fulfillment. Fulfillment is aimed for long term and isn't something fleeting. Therefore, fulfillment cannot be achieved by doing something for a short while.

Let's keep using gaming as an example. You might use gaming to bring happiness while you go to school. It helps you relax and not worry about the problems in life. Yet, does it feel meaningful in life? Does it give you something that, when you look back when you're old, you feel proud of? For me, gaming as a hobby won't do that for me. Of course, I cannot say the same for other people.

Our success, which differs for everyone, must bring us both happiness and fulfillment. This is merely a balance of us getting both short term and long term satisfaction in life. The short term will remind us we are heading in the right direction while the long term will be proof we picked the right journey and destination in life. Essentially, you have found success when you found a good balance that doesn't require you to sacrifice anything to achieve your definition of success. You still have ups and downs but you won't regret going on this journey.

Now we move onto being better. What does it mean to be better? Once again, I cannot answer this for anyone other than myself. I believe we all have great potential and a unique talent no one else can rival. Our job is to find that and share our talent with the world by changing it in unimaginable ways. Finding it is merely the start but, when you do, you can start aiming to be a better version of yourself.

You are better when you tap more into your potential. Humans have incredible abilities since they can make the impossible possible. We don't have limits except for those we place on ourselves. Even physical limits are questionable since we have people breaking world records in the Olympics. When do we get to a point where we are certain we reached it? Maybe when the records can no longer be broken?

Now, not everyone agree we have a purpose. However, I do think everyone has a role to play on this planet. I'm not religious but I believe everything that happens in our lives weren't coincidences. Every person we meet and every event we experience are there to shape those we encounter. Some of us might not be here to change the world but we can change lives by giving hope and encouragement.

Being better takes place when we know who we are or we're in the process of searching. We don't let others decide who we should become as nobody knows us better. We must remember that our heart/gut knows us best so we must listen to that. When we are living our lives to its fullest everyday being who we are, that's when we know we are becoming better/best versions of ourselves.

[Ponder]

I was not so much questioning "your' interpretation but more 'the' general interpretation. Need, Must, Reason and Purpose are very illusive words.

I do feel the general preconceptions that are currently taught that people may become successful, have more and strive to be better are thwart with with same fallibility despite people having different goals and aspirations. First define happiness and then question the 'form' to which it is that one is looking towards that one may then gain said contentedness. Sadly it's more about personal gains which conflicts with the move towards connecting with others and why I mostly focus on working on myself before entertaining the illusive language of community, oneness, purpose, and so on. It gets complicated as it all winds back in on itself like the serpent eating it's tail which is another story.

Global Consciousness and all it's positive influence means little if others are not open to it. Until we stop measuring what a full cup is and stop telling others what that is, we shall continue to vibrate in a low state whilst professing to others how it is that they should live. So it is that the process of searching only takes effect once we have nothing left to say.

That is what 'He' is saying ... or should I say ... 'He' is striving not to say.

Those hobbies I presented are not so much about playing games (but that context will do) ... it goes much deeper than that. That's for another video where 'HE" will share some place else.

Adios ... all the best 'Rick!

[Rick(amateur)]

I was not so much questioning "your' interpretation but more 'the' general interpretation. Need, Must, Reason and Purpose are very illusive words.

I do feel the general preconceptions that are currently taught that people may become successful, have more and strive to be better are thwart with with same fallibility despite people having different goals and aspirations. First define happiness and then question the 'form' to which it is that one is looking towards that one may then gain said contentedness. Sadly it's more about personal gains which conflicts with the move towards connecting with others and why I mostly focus on working on myself before entertaining the illusive language of community, oneness, purpose, and so on. It gets complicated as it all winds back in on itself like the serpent eating it's tail which is another story.

Global Consciousness and all it's positive influence means little if others are not open to it. Until we stop measuring what a full cup is and stop telling others what that is, we shall continue to vibrate in a low state whilst professing to others how it is that they should live. So it is that the process of searching only takes effect once we have nothing left to say.

That is what 'He' is saying ... or should I say ... 'He' is striving not to say.

Those hobbies I presented are not so much about playing games (but that context will do) ... it goes much deeper than that. That's for another video where 'HE" will share some place else.

Adios ... all the best 'Rick!

I don't mind if people question my interpretation. We are all learning and, if we don't receive criticism during discussion, we won't learn and improve. I also agree that many of those words are illusive. However, people need something more concrete to grasp. There are things we cannot describe with words like trying to describe what is depression. We can explain how we feel but it's basically a hopeless cause trying to make people never experiencing it understand. Our languages are limited in a sense but that shouldn't stop us from trying. Maybe we'll find the right words one day.

The general preconceptions are complicated and can be very misleading. Simply, I think people should just be themselves and they'll find the answers they seek. Society doesn't have the answers and neither does their family. Life is a journey to find out what we want and we must learn how to filter out what society/community/our environment tries to tell us. For successful people nowadays, people don't realize that they're different. They were called crazy at one point because they don't follow the norm. I can really only speak about myself because I only know myself best. Other people have to search for their own answers.

I used games because I'm more or less a gamer outside of work/school. It's also where I began this journey so it's one of those unexpected turns in life.

This is why I don't always intend to do these alone. I want discussions with other people to get different perspective. It's only through a discussion can we learn more about ourselves and get people to question what they actually want. Nowadays, we can ask people and they give really vague answers. When you are too vague, your life will be mostly wandering aimlessly unsure where the destination is. I think I got a better idea where I'm headed than many other people.

Thanks for the discussion! None of us have all the answers but we can at least find the answers relevant to ourselves!

[Rick(amateur)]

-Procrastination 3-

I want to discuss how I think we should deal with procrastination so it won't hinder our lives. One of the reasons causing procrastination is fear. We have fear of failure, fear of success and fear of uncertainty to name a few. When we let fear govern our decision making, we very easily think of the worst case scenarios that, while very unlikely, will stop us in our tracks of doing something.

These worst case scenarios can get so bad we actually see the act of doing something having the potential to kill us. We must remember that times have changed and things we procrastinate usually don't kill us. Let's use dreams as an example. Let's say you have an "unconventional" dream of being a singer or a writer. It's true that, when you start and before you become famous, your life will be tough.

You will be scraping by and making do of little to no income while you try to make your dream a reality. You need to constantly work hard and improve yourself. That and a little bit of luck will eventually see you succeed. However, scraping by is different from trying to survive in an environment where you are a prey to other animals.

Our ancestors, those from a time where civilization was just starting and much of the world is still wilderness, faced these kind of threats. A mistake by them might see them eaten by wolves or bears. They can ill-afford mistakes since they have only one shot at life. Nowadays, we cannot say the same since most of the mistakes we make won't kill us. If anything, these mistakes make us stronger as a result.

When we pursue a dream, we often travel a lonely journey faced with numerous obstacles. I never said such a journey would be easy but we don't face the threat of death like our ancestors did. That's why, despite the impression that our brain is protecting us, we must convince it otherwise with logic and rationale. Our brain is different from those of other animals due to our ability to better reason with ourselves and each other.

Here's one instance where internet can be useful. We can search up stories of people who achieved feats similar to our dreams. If we read about their stories, we see the hardships they encounter but, more often than not, most of these hardships don't come close to death. At the very least, they usually don't rival the worst case scenarios we thought up of due to our incredible imagination.

When fear is causing our procrastination, we need to do some research. Not too much or we'll never get started. We need to learn if there's any reason supporting the fear and not let the most unlikely scenario dictate how we approach an issue. When we can tackle the source of our fear, we'll allow our rationale, not fear, decide our future!

[Rick(amateur)]

-Procrastination 4-

This entry, I want to talk about procrastination caused by boredom or the "I don't feel like it" mentality. For both of these, we need to figure out our why. Not everyone needs a why to rid procrastination but I feel a stronger why can help many people who find themselves procrastinating regarding things like pursuing a dream they always wanted.

Regardless of what dreams we have, the beginning will be tough, dull and won't see us make much progress in our pursuit. For those who have started on their dreams, it's usually this stage when they give up. Things weren't as exciting as they believed it was initially. After all, we might pursue something we saw on the internet or television and those are the success stories.

We must remember that the start will get tough and might be filled with boredom. We must plan, make goals and do things that weren't fun. For instance, I have a YouTube channel. I enjoy making the recordings but those are only part of my tasks. I must also edit and, if the recordings didn't go well, I must redo the recordings. There are times when I have to make the same recordings multiple times until the sound quality is acceptable given my equipment.

We'll also encounter mistakes early on and these mistakes make it worse. We not only feel bad about being a "failure" but we also develop doubt in ourselves. We don't like the feeling of "failing" and these can discourage us enough that we give up altogether. For other dreams, they have their own frustrations and lack the short-term gains people often desperately search for and needing to justify their decision to walk this path.

At the start, we are building a foundation necessary to our success. The foundation is hard work that doesn't feel especially satisfying but we cannot ignore it. Imagine a high rise with a terrible foundation. How much trust would you put into something that can collapse onto itself because someone took shortcuts and didn't do the work need?

What gets us to build a strong foundation is our why. Why do I make videos and write these entries? I want to help people by providing a perspective and start a discussion. Too often, I heard stories of people suffering mental illnesses state they cannot find a place they can belong to. These people search for forums but I feel there's only so much that can be accomplish with words typed on a screen.

I want to make videos and podcasts where people can hear others talk about serious issues. We aren't always in the mood of reading something but we can listen. If someone cannot sleep, they can maybe turn on one of my podcasts and listen. They can hear how they aren't alone. They can also see both the similarities and difference between themselves and others with similar problems.

Having suffered but being fortunate to not deal with as serious issues as many others here, I think I have a duty to help those who seek for help. We cannot always expect the government to do something about mental health issues so us ordinary people have to stand up for it. That's my why so I'm not going to stop until I make my dream come true.

As soon as our why involves more than us, we stop fighting for ourselves. When we fight for only ourselves, we give up easily if we don't want to deal with it anymore. When we fight for other people too, we are constantly reminded that we cannot give up for their sake. That belief is what separates those reaching their dreams and those who give up shortly after they started!

[Rick(amateur)]

-Realistic-

In our lives, we all experience situations where people tell us to make realistic goals and realistic dreams. We shouldn't be dreamers and do crazy things. I heard this countless time and had agreed to it for a long time. Yet, times have changed and, after experiencing some lessons taught to me by life itself, I began to hate it when people tell me to be realistic with my future.

After all, what do they mean by realistic? Whose standard is this realistic based upon? What is realistic to one person might be unrealistic for another person. I'm a pretty skinny guy so it's unrealistic to see me lifting weights like I do it regularly. For those training for years, it's realistic for them. Until we define what's meant by realistic, we are basically sending the wrong message to people.

We each have our strengths and weaknesses so a vague term like realistic simply doesn't work. Our society has a mold which is considered realistic for everyone. We go to school, get a degree and then get a job. This is the most realistic view our society promotes, especially through our schools. Anything that strays from this path is unrealistic and frowned upon.

We must remember that not everyone can study and do well in exams. I'm one of those people who can do alright but it's not how I learn. The way schools teach and test are probably the worst match for me. On the contrary, I learn best with things I enjoy and I self teach myself. With my YouTube channel and website, I learn from guides online and obtained more useful things than what I can grasp from my lectures.

This is likely the case for many other people where the school environment doesn't suit them. They cannot sit still and need other ways of learning which is why our schools must diversify how classes are taught. If we use the same standards for all students, some will fail since they cannot excel in such an environment. This is especially bad for the newer generations who, after failing, get the idea they are stupid and worthless.

I was fortunate to learn from experience that I'm not stupid and worthless. I've merely been pursuing the wrong path and stumbled every bit of the way. I'm charting a proper course now and would have been on the way long ago if schools were so terribly structured and forcing its students into a mold. I have learned that the realistic expectations, goals and dreams society expect of us don't suit me so I'll walk my own path!

[Rick(amateur)]

-Realistic 2-

Last entry, I talked how we shouldn't let society or other people decide what's realistic for us. What's possible for one person might not be for another. We know ourselves best or, at the very least, we are in the best position to discover who we are. The early stages of our life are discovering what we are truly capable of but this cannot be achieved by going to school.

Sadly, schools nowadays are aimed to teach us what to think and not how to think. They emphasis this mold we must fit into or we'll be outcasts and failures in our society. We can only discover who we are by seeing more of the world with our own two eyes, not through a monitor or screen. Only by seeing more of this world and meeting more people can we slowly piece together what makes us unique in this world.

For this entry, I want to talk about us setting realistic goals for ourselves. This is the realistic we determined for ourselves. We have picked what we wanted to pursue in life and what awaits us is to get there step by step. To get there, we make goals for ourselves and, by accomplishing each goal, we get closer and closer until the dream is a reality. However, goal setting isn't as easy as many people think it might be.

When we set unrealistic goals, we get into a situation where we don't meet it and get discouraged. Discouragement can be so powerful that many people give up on their dreams due to it. When we set proper goals, we can avoid this altogether. Now, you might wonder what I meant by unrealistic goals. One example would be expecting ten thousand loyal subscribers within the first month of making a YouTube channel. This isn't impossible but your odds are probably worse than winning a lottery.

There are unreasonable expectations in life and we must realize them. Too many people nowadays expect success instantly or very early on. Unrealistic goals are generally those that support these crazy expectations. When these aren't met, those people no longer think they can do it when they are actually experiencing what anybody else would experience in their situation. Some might get faster growth but, generally, the start is the toughest.

I personally believe that the early goals for people, regardless of what they pursue, is to make as many mistakes as possible and learn from them as quickly as possible. Early on, we shouldn't be expecting any success and, instead, learn how to build a strong foundation. Any success is just a bonus but we shouldn't expect these to happen.

It's through making mistakes and getting through the learning stages that we learn what goals we can set for ourselves. It's never a bad idea to set smaller goals but there's a difference between smaller and low goals. Small goals are merely breaking things down so we can see progress easier and build confidence through them. Low goals are lowering our expectations and killing any momentum we could have by playing too safe.

Setting goals is never easy and it's a constant learning process. The successful people nowadays are those who made plenty of mistakes and set goals they can reach. That's why we shouldn't be too focused on goal setting at the very beginning since we tend to make them unrealistic. Instead, we should learn when we can afford mistakes and become better informed in the matter to set better goals.

[Rick(amateur)]

-Instinct-

Instinct has been with us humans for thousands of years. This has kept our ancestors from way back when alive against all the dangers posed in the environment they lived it. These dangers are usually in the form of wild animals that are bigger, faster and stronger than our ancestors. One mistake would see a human being a meal for these wild creatures.

I wish to talk about instinct because there has been mentions for a number of my entries regarding gut feeling. I spoke about how we should trust our gut in pursuing our dreams. Our gut feelings are very accurate like certain dangerous situations and we might not know what's happening. Our gut tells us to flee and, by listening to it, we avoid unfavorable fate.

Yet, our gut can also dash our dreams and this contradicts with what I said in the last paragraph. Essentially, our instinct is a double-edged sword and can work either way. It's a matter of how we use our instinct that determines whether we'll find success or not. While the part of our brain controlling our instincts haven't changed much since our ancestors, other parts of our brain have developed and we should use all of them.

We see our instinct as a feeling where we don't have logic. It's that sixth sense people talk about but couldn't explain. Then, we have other parts of the brain that process the information and use a logical approach to figure out the best approach. When we see an accident up ahead blocking off an intersection, our brain tells us to turn so we can avoid it altogether.

There are some situations where we shouldn't question instinct because the split second decision might be the difference between life and death. There are also other situations where our life isn't at risk but the fear within us equate the scenario to that of getting eaten by predators. The latter situation is where we must process the information from our instinct to see if the fear has basis or not.

We have examples of where we do suppress some of the messages sent by our instincts. We have soldiers who are going on dangerous missions. Their instinct will tell them how dangerous the mission can be but they still proceed forward. Not only are lots at stake depending on their mission's outcome but the actions promoted by instincts will likely spell failure due to how oversimplified our instincts makes in our decision making, either fight or flight.

[Rick(amateur)]

-Instinct 2-

I wish to discuss the fear related to our instinct. When we get into situations that are dangerous, our instinct tells us to fight or flee. More often than not, we are told to flee because it's the safer of the two options. Fighting might see us wounded or killed so it's a last resort when we have no other options. It's exactly this flee mentality that affects so many people in their decision making.

For our ancestors from a much unforgiving environment, instinct will increase their odds of survival. Nowadays, we live in a much different world. Sure, we have dangers like criminals in cities and wild predators in the wilderness. These dangers still linger but, for the majority of the people nowadays, we don't face close to the amount of dangers faced by our ancestors. As a result, we don't need to rely on instinct as heavily.

Uncertainty is one of the biggest causes for our fears nowadays. We don't know how the future will hold and this can be a very terrifying experience. Yet, many things we deal with now cannot equate with what our ancestors felt. Therefore, it makes no sense when we are using the same decision making as our ancestors where flee or fight are the only two options available to us.

Sadly, our society promote an image where making mistakes can equate to a fate as bad, if not worse, as death. Our schools tell us to not make mistakes and those who make a few too many drop out. Exams are used to test how few mistakes you can make. These standards aren't suitable for everyone but our society has reached a stage where making mistake is frowned upon and too many people fail life as a result. No progress can be made by those who fear mistakes and that's been proven over and over again in history.

This image promoted by society and our instincts kicking in when we attempt something new basically reinforce each other until we are fully convinced with what we're told. Our instincts are outdated in certain aspects which is understandable but we have no reason to keep our way of thinking primitive. We aren't making progress if only technological advances are made and no improvements are made to our minds and ideas.

Therefore, we must learn when we can trust the judgement of our instinct. Nobody can teach us that except the experiences we have in life. Instinct has saved lives but it has also destroyed lives. Essentially, we shouldn't completely rely on it. There are other parts of our brain that can be used in decision making but, regardless of which parts you're using, don't let society or others control how you think. Nothing in life is perfect so we should question things to see if they're valid or not. As for our own lives, no one knows it best than ourselves!

[Rick(amateur)]

-Instinct 3-

Last entry, I talked about how instinct can be bad for us. This is tied more closely to the fear factor of instinct. However, we cannot neglect the desire aspect of instinct which's one of the keys to future success. Just as instinct can end dreams for some, it can also be a powerful driving force for others which ultimately sees them reach success yearned by many but few can achieve.

Why is the desire so important? Here's what I see in people who only use logic during their decision making. With logic, we like to analyze the situation so we can weigh the pros and cons of a decision. Let's use the dream of becoming a professional singer who sells albums regularly year after years. This is a dream some people like to pursue but only a small minority reach the dream.

If we use logic, we see the odds being way too low. It's probably easier winning the lottery than becoming one of the top singers revered around the world. What happens when we see this overwhelming odds? Our logical mind searches for alternatives to see what route has better odds. Now, there's nothing in life that has a hundred percent success rate but there are certain paths with better odds than something like professional singer.

Of course, the logical mind will also take into account of talent. If we are convinced that we lack the talent, then we'd never think we can succeed. We would question how we compete with someone with so much talent that they can do incredible things with ease. As a result, we stop ourselves from even trying the moment we see people who are more talented than us.

Sadly, talent doesn't necessarily define success. Those who, despite lacking talent, work harder than everyone else and perseveres will. Yet, our logical mind won't believe that and wants the path of least resistance. That's how our logical mind works. It will suggest the easier paths because it makes more sense and odds of success, whatever this success might be, is more likely.

For people who deny their instincts, I feel they are walking a dangerous path. Logic can work for some areas but it cannot fulfill in every role we need in life. At least, it won't be enough to get us the success we desire in life if we rely solely on it. We mustn't neglect logic but we shouldn't see it as the sole method of thinking either. After all, many crazy things done in the past like going into space weren't accomplished simply through logical minds alone.